


Unexpected Beauty

by Jadesymb



Series: Unexpected Beauty Verse [1]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Light BDSM, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-24
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-11-16 23:46:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/545141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadesymb/pseuds/Jadesymb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve discovers that Clint and Phil are a couple, and that they might have a few unexpected kinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Beauty

Shortly after Steve had come out of the ice, he’d been thrust into a whirlwind of battling Gods of Mischief and alien invasions. Before Steve really understood what was going on, he’d found himself invited to live in a tall tower owned by a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. While he had come to accept, maybe even enjoy, the living arrangements, Steve chafed at not having an official job or income. Yes, he was Captain America, but he felt like that wasn’t a full time job. So, when Nick Fury recruited him to be an agent of SHIELD, complete with a steady paycheck and a chance to help out, he had been cautiously enthusiastic about the offer. He’d talked to Coulson (who wasn’t dead after all) as well as Clint and Natasha. All three of them encouraged him to sign up. Given Steve’s background, Fury managed to waive a lot of the initial training, and now Steve was Agent Rogers in addition to being Captain America. Which is how he found himself involved in an uncomfortable brief for a mission with Clint, Natasha, and Coulson.

“Barton and I will go in undercover as a couple.” Coulson said.

“Wait. No way.” Clint replied firmly. Coulson looked frustrated, his glare was directed strictly at Clint, but Steve felt the need to try and defuse the situation.

“A couple? Wouldn’t it make more sense for Natasha and I or Natasha and Clint to go in?” Steve interrupted. 

Coulson turned toward Steve, his mask of calm back in place. “The White Swallow is an upscale club gay club in Las Vegas owned by Michael Smith. Mr. Smith has recently been approached by a man going by the name Ben who is dealing in human trafficking. Intelligence confirms they are bringing in minors from third world countries and selling them in the US. Ben is using the elite BDSM club on the second floor to conduct those transactions. We’re trying to find the names of the people in charge of this organization. Mr. Smith has agreed to help us.” 

“If Clint’s uncomfortable then I can go in with you, or Clint and I can go together.” Steve could feel himself blushing a little. He hadn’t done much undercover work at all, and posing as a couple with anyone seemed awkward. Steve knew the tone of Clint’s objection had clearly stemmed from more than just the situation. He suspected there was something going on between Clint and Natasha. In the tower, Steve had witnessed the two cuddle and touch often but, other than once on a mission, he’d not seen them kiss. Certainly, given their backgrounds, they both seemed adult enough to handle Clint and Coulson posing as a couple. His musing was interrupted by Clint’s unabashed laughter.

“No Steve, you can’t go undercover to a gay bar. Even under a ton of makeup, they’d make Captain America in two seconds.” Clint managed to say as he struggled to get himself under control. 

After a few deep breaths, Clint turned to Coulson, his expression now serious. “You were only just cleared to go out in the field, you aren’t on top of your game. You’re thinking Peter Knight? Last time you were Peter Knight we had to do a lot more than simple infiltration. No job is ever cake.”

“SHIELD has lifted all my restrictions. And I’ll have Davy with me.” Coulson replied, and Clint’s expression changed. Steve wasn’t sure what emotion was crossing Clint’s face, but Clint’s eyelids fluttered and his hands clenched.

“That’s not fair. You know how much I like playing Davy. You aren’t ready for fieldwork. Nat, tell him.” Clint’s eyes locked on Natasha. 

Steve raised his hand, “Who is Davy? And Peter Knight? And why can’t I go into a gay bar, but you can?” 

“Aliases, undercover personas that Coulson and Clint have used in the past for infiltration, among other things.” Natasha said calmly. She was relaxed in her chair, leaning back, a wicked grin on her face. 

Coulson’s voice was calm and steady, “And we’ve managed to keep Clint and Natasha mostly off the radar, all the focus in on you, Thor, Hulk, and Tony. Not to mention you have a strong following among homosexuals. You’ll come along as backup, in case things go south. Natasha will be on the inside, posing as staff.”

“None of which changes the fact that I don’t think you should be in the field yet.” Clint pointed out.

“And that’s not your call to make.” Coulson replied.

Natasha reached over and whacked Clint on the back of the head. “Clint, stop being a moron. This is half of why you and I didn’t work out. It’s not your call.” 

Steve was glad she didn’t knock him unconscious. He thought about her words, and realized that Natasha and Clint must not be dating after all, although clearly they had in the past. Interesting. He wondered what Tony would think of that. 

“Fine. But we are getting extra back up. Bring in the team.” Clint crossed his arms over his chest, and honestly looked like he was pouting. Steve didn’t think he’d ever seen Clint pout before. 

“You really want Stark to see Davy? To see Davy and Peter together?” Coulson asked, his voice small and careful, eyes downcast. 

“Why not? It’ll be a blast!” Clint’s return grin was brilliant. Steve glanced back and forth between the two, frowning slightly. He still felt like he was missing a lot of information.

“Can we work on ironing out the details now that you two are sorted out?” Natasha asked with a sigh. 

As was wearily becoming standard operating procedure, Steve filed away his unanswered questions as Coulson turned and began to bring up layouts of the club on the screens. 

\-------

The rest of the Avengers weren’t tapped for the mission after all. Steve found himself in Las Vegas as part of a five person team, with the addition of Agent Veronica King to their ranks. King was to help train Steve on how to run an op from the sidelines instead of the front lines. For the first time, Steve was going out into the field camouflaged, with his armor hidden under a charcoal gray, non-spangled suit. Steve was surprised to be back-up and, if he was being honest, it made him proud that he could be useful as something other than a front line soldier. 

They would be working out of two rooms at a nice hotel next to the club where the op was to go down. Coulson and Clint had arrived a few hours before Natasha, King and Steve in order to prep for their roles. By the time Steve brought up the last bag, Coulson had opened the door to the adjoining room Clint and Coulson would share and was helping King set up the equipment. At first glance, his suit looked pretty close to his everyday wear, but there was something about his clothes that made Steve think Tony Stark instead of Phil Coulson. 

“Hey,” Coulson said, looking up and meeting Steve’s eyes. “Clint’s getting ready next door. We’re almost set up here, although it will take a good hour to do the final checks.” Steve nodded at Coulson before wandering into the second room. The bathroom door was open, and Steve could hear humming coming from inside.

“Hey Clint, need any...” Steve’s voice trailed off, and his jaw dropped open as he peeked into the bathroom. Clint was leaning over the sink, carefully applying makeup to his eyes. He was dressed in all black, a tight tank top and baggy cargo pants, with combat-style boots. What looked like some sort of tribal tattoo had been applied to the length of Clint’s left arm, defining and somehow accentuating the musculature. Clint’s hair was also darker than usual, with purple spikes sticking up on top of his head. 

“I’m good,” Clint looked over at Steve. “What? Did I fuck up my eyeliner?” Clint looked worriedly back in the mirror.

“First time you’ve seen Davy?” Natasha smirked from the adjoining door. “I’d say meet him, but you haven’t actually yet.” She sauntered into the room, sliding past Steve to join Clint in the bathroom. “I don’t know why you always make me check, you can do both our eyes up better than I can.” She added as she took Clint’s chin in her hand and looked him over. Clint was fidgeting under her touch, like he was having trouble staying in one place.

Steve finally forced himself to swallow, closing his mouth. Clint was normally an attractive man, but with the makeup and eyeliner, even Steve had to admit, Clint looked very good. The eyeliner really brought out his eyes, and the dark colors and tattoo added an air of mystery. 

“It’s perfect.” Natasha said to Clint, stepping back. Clint jumped in place a few times, and then started stretching, raising his hands over his head. Natasha stepped back and gave Clint room to complete his routine. Steve turned away, just in time to see Phil walk into the room. 

“Just missing one thing.” Phil said with an odd smile on his face. He was holding something black in his hand. 

“Oh good. I always feel off like this until...” Clint’s voice trailed off and he shrugged. Clint walked out of the bathroom, stepped up to Coulson and sunk to his knees in front of him, his head bowed slightly forward, eyes toward the ground. 

“What?” Steve couldn’t help but ask. This whole op was confusing to him. Natasha stepped over to Steve, placed her small hand on his arm and leaned in toward him. 

“Shh, wait. Then you can meet Davy.” She whispered in his ear. Steve watched, slightly horrified, as he realized the item Coulson held in his hand was some sort of dog collar. Coulson slipped it onto Clint’s neck, and Clint let out a soft sigh that sounded a little like relief. 

“Come on, up.” Coulson said kindly, and he helped Clint to his feet. The younger man sighed again and curled up under Coulson’s arm, leaning up to nuzzle at Coulson’s neck. Steve had to bite his cheek to keep his mouth from falling open again. He’d never seen Clint cuddle up to anyone other than Natasha, and Coulson was rarely physically affectionate.

“Meet Davy.” Natasha smirked. 

“Is he okay?” Steve asked, “I mean, I’m not sure this is okay. Is Clint okay?” 

Coulson wasn’t looking at them as he spoke, his attention wholly focused on Clint. “He’s fine. He’s just getting into character. It’s one he enjoys playing. I can call him back at any time, and if anything goes wrong he’ll snap back himself. Now, would you two clear out and give us a few minutes? Davy and Peter should be ready to head to the bar by the time you’ve got the equipment up.” 

Natasha tugged Steve back into the other room, closing the door behind them. 

“Is Agent Coulson okay with Clint being so.... handsy?” Steve asked, unsure if Coulson’s focus was due to discomfort. Agent King burst out laughing, and Natasha was giggling at Steve’s questioning look.

“I thought Barton and Phil were living at Stark’s tower?” King asked around her laughter.

“Nope,” Natasha shook her head, her giggles quickly subsiding. “Clint’s staying at the tower when he’s around, but Coulson still has the apartment. They’ve been splitting their time between the two places. I’ve been watching everyone try to figure it out, it’s been highly amusing.” 

“Figure what out?” Steve asked, feeling even more confused. Natasha shook her head at Agent King. King dissolved into another fit of laughter. 

“I cannot wait to spread this around the office. I will be the gossip Queen!” King managed to gasp after a minute. “How is this even possible?”

Natasha just smiled. Steve sat down on the couch and shook his head.

“I’m very confused. Can we just get the equipment set up?” He said to the room at large, his growing frustration with the whole situation evident by the Captain America undertone in his voice. 

As he heard the lock to the connecting room snick closed, he felt Natasha’s hand on his shoulder. He glanced up to see warmth and reassurance in her eyes. “Actually Steve, why don’t you go get us some food and drinks from the corner store? You and Veronica should hopefully be trapped in this room all night together, alone. Wouldn’t want you to get thirsty.” Natasha passed Steve some cash. “Take your time.” 

Steve sighed and headed out the door. 

\--------

He didn’t get too far before his phone began playing the strange song that Tony had set as his own personal ringtone. 

“Tony, I’m working.” Steve hissed into his phone, not completely sure why he’d bothered to answer.

“That’s great! Working for the man and all. How is that going for you?” Something clanged in the background.

“Everything okay?” If the Avengers were needed to assemble, SHIELD would have contacted Steve.

“Fine. Working on a project. Needed to know what color you liked.” Tony sounded distracted, “No Dummy! Put that down. We don’t need the fire extinguisher for this!”

“Depends.” Steve stepped out onto the street.

“Sorry, wait, what were we talking about?” Tony asked.

“Why would someone wear a dog collar?” Steve replied, still trying to puzzle that one out. He hadn’t seen it as any type of fashion craze for the future. Had he missed some important pop culture reference?

“Who is wearing a dog collar? Did SHIELD actually put a collar on you? Are they afraid you’ll wander off in Sin City and not come home?” Tony’s voice was suddenly focused and curious.

“Uh, no. I just...saw a couple of guys walking around.” Steve felt a blush spread across his face, and he thanked his lucky stars that Tony couldn’t actually see him. There had been something private about that moment with Clint and Coulson earlier that made Steve feel weird about sharing it, even with Tony.

“Could be a goth thing, could be a sex thing. Some people are into that sort of thing. Why? You like the look? Want to mark your territory? Is this that chick agent they brought along?”

“TONY! You’re not supposed to know the details.” Steve was not surprised that Tony had information on the op. He mused over Tony’s words for a moment, listening to Tony yell at his bots in the background. Finally, Steve said, “What did you mean about marking my territory?”

“What? Oh, the collar, um? Maybe this is a conversation you should be having with Mr. Google. DUMMY! What are you doing now! Steve, I’ve got to go before Dummy ruins the whole thing.” The phone line went dead. 

Steve felt like his conversation with Tony had been helpful but it left him with yet more questions. From their earlier behavior, it didn’t seem like Natasha or Agent King were going to provide him with any answers. In an attempt to alleviate his frustration, Steve redirected his focus to the task at hand. Trusting the tone of Natasha’s advice, he took his time at the store.

\-------------

Almost an hour later, Steve returned to the room, stocked with provisions and determined to puzzle out this mission on his own.

“Was starting to wonder if you’d had some sort of weird culture shock out there, or an unreported gambling addiction.” Agent King commented as Steve returned to the room. 

“Nope, just getting snacks and following Natasha’s advice, Agent King.” Steve shrugged as he set the bag of goodies on the bed. “Speaking of, where did she go?” 

“Please call me Ronnie. Nat went over to start her shift at the club and get our cameras in place. She’s on comms.” King tossed Steve an earpiece, “Everyone else is wired up and ready to go. Come see the view.” She turned back to the makeshift command center, complete with a large array of monitors that now showed the inside of the club. 

Inserting his earpiece, Steve was about to join Ronnie when the door to the adjoining room opened suddenly and Clint bounded in.

“Ronnie! How’s my eyeliner? Give me one last check before we go.” Clint seemed to be in a good mood, and, much to Steve’s relief, was acting more like himself again. 

“It’s fine Clint. You shouldn’t have let Coulson mess up your makeup in the first place.” The dark haired SHIELD agent laughed. 

“Sorry about the noise.” Clint smirked as he said it though, and Steve had a feeling that he wasn’t actually sorry about the noise.

“Are you ready Clint?” Coulson appeared in the doorway, his hands worked at his tie.

“Let me help.” Clint moved back to Coulson and straightened the tie. Then Clint leaned in and kissed Coulson in a slow and sensual way. Steve found himself looking away from the couple as he finally put the pieces together. 

“Wait? You guys are together? Not just for the op, but together?” Steve hadn’t meant to say it out loud. 

“What?” Clint swung around to face Steve, surprise showing on his face. Steve was suddenly afraid he’d misread the situation somehow, but Clint kept talking, “You mean you didn’t know?”

“Um. No?” Steve was at a complete loss. He heard very quiet snickering over the earpiece and realized Natasha must also be listening in on the conversation. 

“I spend half my nights at our apartment instead of at the tower!” Clint pointed out.

“Against Fury’s direct order that you live full time at the tower.” Natasha added over the comm, her voice a low whisper.

“What, I’m just supposed to move out of my apartment and leave Phil behind because Fury orders it?” Clint grumbled into his microphone. 

Coulson cut in, “Yes, that’s exactly what you are supposed to do. And we have an op to start. Mike is waiting for us to make contact. We’re already about fifteen minutes behind schedule.” 

This time Steve’s need for verification overrode his deference to Coulson’s authority. “I apologize for contributing to the delay but, you two also live together?” 

Clint seemed genuinely annoyed now. “Yes. We live together. Have been living together for five years. Well, until we were all told to move in with Tony, anyway. How do you not know this? It’s not a secret!” 

“We thought you were with Natasha! You’re always in her room and....” Steve trailed off, now wondering if Coulson knew that Clint and Natasha had spent all those nights together.

“And what? Nat’s my person. I don’t sleep well without someone to guard my back. Phil was stuck at medical, and then stuck late at SHIELD.” Clint looked angry. 

“Clint. We’ve got a job to do. Now.” Coulson stated, his voice taking on a commanding tone that Steve hadn’t heard before. 

“We are not done talking about this.” Clint spun on Coulson. “And you are either moving into the tower or I’m moving back to the apartment full time. Orders or no orders.” 

Coulson responded with an exasperated sigh. Then he took a deep breath, and stood a little straighter, a dark look crossed his eyes. “Clint. Front and center, now.” Coulson’s voice was velvet wrapped steel. Steve saw the lines of Clint’s back loosen, Clint’s walk suddenly smooth, cat-like as he slid to Coulson.

“Better.” Coulson slowly raked his gaze up and down the Archer’s body. “Much better. Kiss me.” Steve couldn’t help the little gasp of surprise that escaped his lips. He had not expected Coulson to order Clint around like that, and given that he’d hardly ever seen Clint and Coulson touch, the public displays of affection he’d seen today had already been shocking enough. 

Clint leaned into Coulson’s body, his lips tentative on Coulson’s. Steve wanted to look away, felt the blush spreading across his face, but his gaze was drawn to them. Coulson slid his hand into Clint’s hair, tugging on it, opening his mouth to kiss Clint back with barely controlled passion. Clint was slowly pulled away from the kiss by Coulson’s grip on his hair, and Coulson captured Clint’s bottom lip between his teeth, biting down as Clint slipped backwards. 

“Perfect.” Coulson’s voice was now soft and breathy. “What’s the word?” 

“Alberta” 

“Alberta.” Coulson repeated back to Clint. “Good. Agent King? Agent Rogers? Are you set?” Ronnie nodded at Coulson. Steve shifted, uncomfortable from watching such an intimate moment.

“Steve. We’re probably going to do more than just kiss in the club. If you can’t handle it, now is the time to speak up. We’ve done a lot more in the name of maintaining cover.” Phil’s voice was gentle as he searched Steve’s eyes.

Resolved, Steve nodded his acceptance. “I’m good.” He wasn’t bothered by their kissing, or their relationship. He was bothered by how affected he was by how amazing they looked together. His fingers itched for his sketchbook and pencils. 

“Good. Natasha?” Phil was all business again.

“Waiting on you.” Floated over the comms.

“On our way. Let’s go Davy.” Coulson turned and Clint fell into step behind him, the two of them returning to their room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Steve let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He settled in for what he was sure was going to continue to be a surprise-filled, awkward educational experience.


End file.
